His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America. Growing up on the coast of Liguria , he went to sea at a young age and traveled widely, as far north as the British Isles and as far south as what is now Ghana.
He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo , who bore a son, Diego , and was based in Lisbon for several years. Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in geography, astronomy, and history. He developed a plan to seek a western sea passage to the East Indies , hoping to profit from the lucrative spice trade. Columbus left Castile in August with three ships and made landfall in the Americas on 12 October, ending the period of human habitation in the Americas now referred to as the pre-Columbian era.
His landing place was an island in the Bahamas , known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola , establishing a colony in what is now Haiti. Columbus returned to Castile in early , with captured natives. Word of his voyage soon spread throughout Europe. Columbus made three further voyages to the Americas, exploring the Lesser Antilles in , Trinidad and the northern coast of South America in , and the east coast of Central America in Many of the names given to geographical features by Columbus, particularly the names of islands, are still in use.
He gave the name indios 'Indians' to the indigenous peoples he encountered. The extent to which he was aware the Americas were a wholly separate landmass is uncertain; he never clearly renounced his belief he had reached the Far East. As a colonial governor, Columbus was accused by some of his contemporaries of significant brutality and removed from the post.
Columbus's strained relationship with the Crown of Castile and its colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and removal from Hispaniola in , and later to protracted litigation over the privileges he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the crown.
